'Shaheen Bagh is no longer a mere ghetto of lower middle class Muslims.' 'Now, it is a metaphor for resistance, secularism and struggle,' notes Md. Zeeshan Ahmad.
'The BJP has not moved on since its 2014 victory. There is nothing new to offer. There is far too much negativity about the other side and far too little about what has been achieved by its government.' 'That may have worked when the BJP was in the Opposition but if they believe that the people of India will continue to hold them to such a low standard of expectations, they are really taking the voter for granted or misreading his pulse.'
'Stree's allegorical approach doesn't interfere with its need to endear and entertain.' 'Important ideas of empowerment and item songs as well as chills and chuckle coexist to fulfil its objective of thoda hasao, thoda darao,' says Sukanya Verma.
Banerjee has fulfilled two key electoral promises: Ridding Lalgarh of Naxals and bringing peace to Darjeeling
Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic gave Australia an unwanted reputation as a breeding ground for tennis brats during a tempestuous 2015 and the pair will be firmly under the spotlight in front of home crowds at Melbourne Park. With former world number one Lleyton Hewitt set to retire and the last of his two grand slam titles at the 2002 Wimbledon championships a distant memory, Australia has long yearned for a new force in men's tennis to challenge at the majors. Tomic, 23, and Kyrgios, 20, have both been tagged as the future of the sport in the country but the excitement generated by their undeniable talent gave way to dismay last season as the pair hogged the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will soon get around to reworking their organisational set-up and administrative priorities to regain lost ground in the wake of the Delhi electoral debacle, but there's third course available to them as well. That is to introduce the presidential form of government, which prime ministers Indira Gandhi and A B Vajpayee flirted with before abandoning it. Will Modi go further than them? N Sathiya Moorthy analyses the scenario.
'What was previously buried in the sands of time now gets buried by the weight of banality,' notes Sreehari Nair.
The list of candidates contesting elections in the current round of assembly polls shows that not much has changed with regard to political parties' approach to candidates with a criminal track record. A K Bhattacharya explains
Any settlement with Pakistan won't last unless it comes with big power guarantees, says Shekhar Gupta.
Amongst those who heard the message of the Bihar results would be Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, whose realm is simultaneously the country's most complex and -- when something goes wrong -- the most emotive, says Ajai Shukla.
'Now that there is an election in the offing, she is repeating the same old promises. Does she think the people of Bengal are fools to fall for her lies?'
"Until now, the Congress was completely against the current government. Now they have also joined hands overnight. This goes to show how honest their intentions are," he added, taking a swing at the alliance.
Satnam Singh may have endured a tough time with the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA, but he isn't ready to give up just yet.
The legendary athlete showers praise on the film, and the team behind it.
Don't be tempted to take up what is on offer simply because it has come to you on a platter and looks promising on the surface.
Opposition on Monday picked holes in various government decisions like demonetisation and surgical strikes as well as allocation of funds for MNREGA, agriculture sector and Scheduled Castes, saying it has failed on all fronts despite which it is trying to "fool" the people.
Nine Congress MLAs, most of them Bahuguna loyalists, rebelled against Harish Rawat and supported BJP's claim to form a government.
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In his bid to make 'Swachh Bharat' a people's movement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday initiated a chain by inviting nine eminent personalities including cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, industrialist Anil Ambani along with several actors to spread awareness on cleanliness.
In a Sri Lankan House of 225 members, the cut-off figure comes to 113. With Wickremesinghe side touching 102 and Rajapaksa's team at 101, the three-party Tamil National Alliance with 16 members and the left-leaning Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna with 6 members hold the key. But with the latter declaring that they will not support either formation in a vote count,that leaves the TNA as the deciding factor, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'There is an effort of painting the entire problem as religious one.' 'That Jammu and Kashmir is the way it is because the valley has radicalised.' 'I would be the first person to accept that there is a greater element of radicalism today than it was 25 years ago, but to suggest the entire valley of Kashmir is radicalised and everything you see on the ground is because radical Islam has suddenly taken over is not true.' Omar Abdullah, former J&K chief minister, explains why 'the situation in J&K is very worrisome.'
Speaking at a rally in poll-bound Bihar, Modi said that the Congress has no right to talk about tolerance after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
'This colliding of worlds is a feature of chawl life in Mumbai, where the clashes in one household often become prime-time television for the neighbours; where the boundaries of good sex, lechery, and incest are frequently blurred,' says Sreehari Nair.
The President talked about demonetisation, electoral reforms and disruptions in Parliament.
While corruption destroys the moral fibre of a nation, its society and people, secularism as espoused in this country is cynical secularism, a sham perpetrated during election time and communalism is a spectre, a bogey raised by these great champions of Indian secularism to secure and perpetuate their vote bank, says Maneck Davar.
Digvijay Singh's questions on Rahul's leadership, Antony's on Congress's secularism are all red herrings, says Virendra Kapoor.
'It remains to be seen how much Prithvi Shaw's warriors go on to accomplish, but letting all the adulation go to their heads is the last thing you can expect.' 'Throughout its dominant streak in New Zealand, the Under-19 team played in the personality of its coach, Rahul Dravid.' 'Now, only if they can kick on and become as good as him.'
'Anyone who watched me batting in Tests would know that I was up for it. I was ready to fight it out.'
While filled with startling insights and questions, and buoyed by terrific performances throughout, Newton suffers from a lack of end-to-end clarity. It is a near-great film but one that for some reason doesn't express itself fully, feels Sreehari Nair.
At Sabarmati Ashram that very hot summer evening, some had come to see and feel the place where Bapu lived. Some had come to be alone on the lawns after a disappointing Class 12 result...
India needs to have a re-look of whole gamut of its relations with major powers and also prepare for a more turbulent neighbourhood. But such is the tyranny of Indian status quo mindset that any talk of re-look at nuclear doctrine or foreign relations is treated as blasphemy, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
Why does the army remain embroiled in counter-insurgency, denying itself a peace dividend even after expending blood and treasure in imposing calm?
Excerpts from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the Combined Commanders Conference on board the INS Vikramaditya at sea, off the coast of Kochi.
'Badlapur,' says Sreehari Nair, 'proves that sometimes there are more personal truths to be discovered in our trash cans than in our neatly arranged book-shelves.'
Dr Pinakin Shah visited the Land of the Thunder Dragon and returned mesmerized.
'This term -- "Nehru-Gandhi" family -- is a misnomer. Nehru was not a dynast; he did not even name his successor... The big mistake she made was to push forward Rahul Gandhi who is a dead loss as a leader,' says Nayantara Sahgal, whom Sonia Gandhi calls 'Tara Masi.'
